Electric cremation

Cremation and the environment

One of the biggest forms of resistance to cremation is the emissions that are released during combustion. There are increasingly strict rules regarding the filters that are in a cremation oven to make it as environmentally friendly as possible, but isn't there a simpler solution? There are plenty of sustainable alternatives such as Promession and Resomeren , but at the moment they are not yet permitted in the Netherlands. Fortunately, there is an alternative that is already permitted: electric cremation. This year, an electric cremation oven from DFW was installed in a Dutch crematorium for the first time:

The importance of sustainable alternatives

People often talk about the high emissions of a cremation, but what exactly are these emissions? A normal cremation oven works on gas, and uses approximately 60 cubic meters of gas for each cremation. Approximately one hundred thousand cremations take place each year, which means that the annual gas consumption of crematoria amounts to 6,000,000 cubic meters of natural gas. This amount will only increase over the years. In 2003, 50% of people opted for cremation, while in 2018 this figure had already risen to 64%. This is why it is of enormous importance to come up with more sustainable alternatives.

Electric cremation

An electric cremator works by using heating elements instead of burning gas. This method of cremation, in which the body is turned into dust by the heat instead of by flames, takes less time. In order to obtain an even ash, the remains are processed in a cremulator after cremation. This is a machine that grinds the remains into dust. Because the electric cremator works exclusively on electricity, cremation can be carried out much more sustainably by using green energy. These types of ovens have been around for a long time, and the technology is constantly being improved to make the ovens as efficient as possible.

Electric cremation ovens in the Netherlands

Electric cremation ovens have been used for some time in Switzerland, among other places. At the beginning of this year, as can be seen in the video above, the first electric cremation oven in the Netherlands was installed. It is located in the Nedermaas crematorium in Geleen. In addition, DELA is also busy installing such an oven in Groningen, and Monuta has decided to use the technology in a new crematorium in Maastricht. Yarden also shows interest in alternative processing methods.